Majority says tensions between Trump and media hurt access to political news: study

President Donald Trump’s contentious relationship with the media is well known among most Americans, and about seven in 10 Americans think tensions between the Trump administration and the news media are negatively affecting on their access to political news, according to a Pew Research Study released Tuesday.

The study found that more than 80 percent of respondents felt the relationship between Trump and the media was unhealthy, including 88 percent of Democrats and 78 percent of Republicans. The belief among respondents that the relationship between Trump and the media was unhealthy was consistent across other demographic groups, including race, gender, education level and age, the survey found.

Additionally, 73 percent of respondents said they believed tensions between Trump and the media were “getting in the way” of Americans’ access to important political news.

The study also found that most Americans were aware of the tensions between the Trump administration and the news media. More than 90 percent of survey respondents were aware of the contentious relationship between the Trump administration and the news media, and more than 70 percent said they have heard a lot about the relationship. Older respondents were more likely to say they had heard “a lot” about the relationship than younger respondents, the study found.

Fifteen percent of respondents said that the relationship between the Trump administration and the news media was healthy despite current tensions.

The study,which surveyed 4,151 Americans over the phone from March 13-27, did not ask about who Americans blames for the state of the tensions, or how they think the tensions should be resolved.